It's R&D. If you've listened to machine learning, it's heavily based around manifolds, statistics, linear algebra, learning theory, etc. All of which were once

It's R&D. If you've listened to machine learning, it's heavily based around manifolds, statistics, linear algebra, learning theory, etc. All of which were once pure math. The entire field of cryptography is built up on number theory, a field which famously a major contributor chose because it could never be useful [for war].